101-year-old WWII veteran was one of the first females to deploy overseas: 'Was a thrill'

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101-year-old World War II veteran shares her story of service

Navy veteran Pat Rudd spoke with Martha MacCallum about her life of service and what inspired her to join the military.

A World War II veteran, who was one of the first women to ever be deployed overseas, shared her incredible story of service and sacrifice in honor of Independence Day. 

101-year-old Navy veteran Pat Rudd joined the military decades ago because she missed her brother so much and wanted to follow in his footsteps, she told Martha MacCallum on the Fox News Channel special "Home of the Brave." 

She ultimately joined Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES), which was the legislation that paved the way for her to become one of the first females to deploy. 

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"I was in the Senate and I happened to be there the day they passed the bill for us to go overseas, and I was so excited that I went back straight to quarters and signed up for volunteering to go," Rudd said Tuesday. "And I was chosen for of one of them to be in the first 200 to go, and so that was a thrill to begin with."

Rudd said she worked with her brother before they joined the military, and after he joined the service, she said she was inspired to continue her quest to follow in her brother's life path. 

101-year-old Navy veteran Pat Rudd joined the military to follow in her brother's footsteps

"He was a gunner's mate and was at sea most of the time," she recalled. "And I never did get to see him when I was in Hawaii. He came right after I left… but we worked in a factory together before we ever went in the service, and so after he left, I kind of wanted to go, so that's why I joined."

While she was in the military, she played a key role in teaching sailors to read and write and also worked in the hospital. 

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She shared an emotional story of how she was able to aid sailors in communicating with their families while they were away at sea. 

"As far as my duty was concerned, I was assigned to the education office, where I taught illiterates to where they could read and write, and what a joy it was to have a boy come and say, I got a letter from my mom and I can read it.," Rudd said in an emotional recount. 

MacCallum asked her if she remembered any patients from the military hospital that had an impact on her. 

World War II Navy veteran Pat Rudd was one of the first women to be deployed overseas

Rudd said she met one man while she was out dancing in Seattle one night, and the pair became fast friends. 

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"It was about three months later, and I got a call from the hospital that somebody wanted to see me," Rudd said. "And I walked the halls to see if I could find him, because that's what you had to do. It was just rows of beds of injured."

"I found that that was my friend and so I cried, and he said, 'Don't cry. I'll be in California shortly playing golf,' and that was the end of my sight for him. And I heard from him later, but that was it. So that was the worst thing I went through."

Rudd, who is one of ten children, has continued her life of service post-military though needlework at VA hospitals.